Leaving Vancouver was both simple and complicated. Everything at work went pretty smoothly. Cheryl was sad but unsurprised that I was leaving.
“I knew you were too good to last,” she said. “Two weeks should be more than enough time for me to get someone new. I’m used to much less notice.” She exhaled loudly.
Ruby the producer took me out to lunch to discuss my broadcasting future. She was pregnant but only recently had begun to show.
“Ouch, my back is killing me.” She rubbed it. “So, you wanted some advice on your career?”
“Yes, there’s this college in Chicago. I was wondering if you think it looks like what I need to become a producer.”
She looked over the curriculum and brochure. “Well, to be honest, it looks like a school for rich kids or something. You’re not even going to school for twenty hours a week. But they’re right, a production assistant job would be a breeze once you had all this exposure to television and radio broadcasting equipment.”
Ruby drank her tomato soup. “What’s the plan, Kelly? Are you coming back later? Because if you still wanted the intern job, I think that completing this program, along with your real university degree and your sports background would make you a shoo-in.”
I hadn’t really talked about the specifics of why I was moving since leaving for a relationship sounded dumb. But Ruby had been a great mentor.
“I hope this doesn’t make you think less of me, but I’m moving to be with my boyfriend.”
A big grin crossed Ruby’s face. “Well, what a coincidence. That’s how I ended up in Vancouver. I had a great job in Toronto, and I had to go and fall in love. Derek was everything I’d ever wanted in a man, except he lived on the other side of the country. He’s a tugboat captain, so he couldn’t move.”
“Crazy! How did you guys meet?”
“We met on a cruise ship. I was getting to the age where all my friends were married, and I figured I’d have to start taking chances if I wanted to meet Mr. Right. So that was one of the many things I tried.”
I giggled. Ruby always seemed so buttoned-down and hard working at the station, that it was hard to imagine her on the prowl. However, her taking a completely methodical approach to finding love was very believable.
“What about you? Who’s this guy who is taking you away from the glamourous world of radio? Is it that tall, dark hottie I’ve seen skulking around the reception desk?”
“Um, no.” Because it was sports radio, I hadn’t ever shared my real story with anyone. Ruby was being so open that I felt I needed to share something. “I’ll tell you, but maybe don’t mention this to anyone—especially Brian Ford.”
She gave me a curious look.
“It’s James Frechette.”
“You mean, as in the Chicago Blackhawks?”
I nodded.
Ruby looked shocked but quickly hid it. “Holy moly. You met him this summer?”
“Oh no, we dated before. We met at hockey camp.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure why you’re even worrying about broadcasting school. You know how much NHL players make.”
“I know, but Ruby, I’ve never even had a career or anything. Don’t you think work is important?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I do. My mother got stuck in a bad marriage for way too long because she had no options.” Then she smiled again. “Weird. You don’t seem like a hockey girlfriend at all.”
I knew that all too well. I was nervous about meeting all the WAGs, but Jimmy had reassured me they were all nice. “It’ll be fine,” I said. That was my mantra.
Things didn’t go as smoothly with my parents.
“Oh Kelly,” my mother declared. “I was so happy that you were settled in your lovely apartment with your great job.”
“Mom, I was a receptionist. Machines are replacing receptionists.”
“But moving in with this James fellow, are you sure that’s the right thing to do?” My dad looked genuinely upset. James had insisted on getting to know my family, so I had brought him over to dinner twice. They liked him, but it was still a shock for them to hear I was moving to a new country to be with him.
“He really needs me. It’s been a challenge for him navigating a new city and his work.”
My mom frowned. “But Kelly, you’re so young, and he’s even younger. Of course, he needs someone to look after him. But a mature relationship is one of equals.”
“Don’t worry, James is very mature. In some ways, he’s way older than I am.”
“And I’m not sure about this living together. You know what they say, dear. A man doesn’t buy the cow if he can get the milk for free.” Clearly, in times of emotional stress, my mom reached for her cliché arsenal.
“We’re not getting married or anything like that. Think of it as my little adventure. I’ll go away for a year—just like you guys. We’ll see how everything goes. And I’m not wasting my time, I’ll be studying too.” I had explained about the broadcasting school.
My dad broke in. “Let’s talk finances then. Do you need money? How are you going to pay for tuition and living expenses?”
I knew my parents were cash-strapped right now, so I didn’t want them to worry. “I’ve got some money saved up. And I’ll get a part-time job or something.” That was a straight up lie, but nobody seemed to notice.
“How are you going to pay down your student loans?” My dad wondered.
“The interest isn’t too bad. I can cover it for a year, and then when I get a job as a production assistant, I can pay it down.”
“How about if we help you pay down the loans, and you can repay us instead?” My dad’s face looked tired and worried.
“It’s okay. I know you need the money for your Japan trip.”
“That’s not true, sweetheart. We need the money for our eventual retirement, so most of the money from the building sale is going into long-term investments. You can be one of my long-term investments.”
I nodded with relief. My financially-conservative dad had raised me to be careful with money, and debt was a big worry. “That would be a big help, Dad,” I confessed.
He hugged me. “Kelly, I know you’re a smart girl and you wouldn’t do this on a whim. But since we’re going to be so far away, I need to know that you’ll contact us if you need anything.”
My mom nodded and got in on the group hug. “Please call us anytime, even if you just want to talk. We can do that Snipe-y thing.”
“Skype, Mom.”
“As long as we hear from you. We worry, you know.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” I sat back in my chair, feeling really emotional. Gino, sensing that loving was being doled out, jumped into my lap.
“I’ll miss you, you fat fluffy thing,” I murmured into his fur.
“We’ll miss you too,” said my mom.
April took things the hardest. “I love having you for a roommate. We get along so well.”
“What do you mean? You’d get along with anyone.”
“Not everyone appreciates my sense of humour,” she complained. “And I know you won’t believe this, but I’ve been called bossy.”
I bit my tongue.
April continued. “Well, at least all the furniture belongs to me, except the stuff in your bedroom.”
“Do you think it’ll take you a long time to find someone new?” I had offered to find the next roommate, but April overruled that since she’d have to live with them.
“I already have two candidates. Karen Leighton, and Alyssa from work.”
“Wow, you don’t waste any time.”
“I’ve been putting out feelers. I could sense the way things were going based on how unhappy Phil was becoming.”
“What? When did you see Phil? I hardly got to see him myself.”
“Oh, he dropped by Ben’s on weekends. I still can’t believe he broke off with you first. I bet it was some sort of pre-emptive strike.”
“Yeah, that’s what Jimmy thought too.” I had no problem believing that Phil did it out of genuine dislike. He had never been so cold to me in all the time I’d known him. It still hurt to think about it.
I changed the subject. “Well, I would think that Karen is the natural choice. She’s a sweetheart and so easy-going.”
“Yes, but she’s got that stupid dog.” April was no animal lover, and Karen’s dog was irritating. She was fostering him, and he was a leg-humper.
“She won’t have that dog forever.”
“Apparently she brings other dogs home for work. If I have to watch dogs getting massaged all day, I’ll barf. And what if they wreck our perfect apartment?”
“If I stayed, I was going to bring Gino here when my parents left. He’d be more likely to scratch the furniture than a dog.”
“Gino is a fat, lazy cat who spends 23 hours of the day sleeping. I could have handled that. Oh yeah, what’s happening to him now? Are you taking him to Chicago?”
I shook my head sadly. “Jimmy is a dog person. Anyway, there are no pets allowed in his condo. Gino is getting shipped off to my mother’s friend, Martha. She spoils cats, so he’ll be in clover there.” I still felt bad about that because I loved my old cat. I’d have visiting rights when I came home, and my parents would reclaim him when they got back from Japan.
“Kelly, can I ask you—what were you going to decide? If Phil hadn’t done what he did?” April peered at me curiously.
“I was going to chose Jimmy,” I said firmly. I hadn’t even let myself think about that hypothetical choice. I was never a person to live in regret or look back, once I decided—that was it.
Her question made me remember a discussion I’d had with Charmaine. She said something about the victors rewriting history, and I had found that ridiculous. History was fact. Whatever happened, happened. But now I could see how easily history was rewritten. Jimmy and I were together, and now it was as if I’d always loved and chosen him. Because there was no point in thinking about Phil again.